Author's Tools
Central idea or underlying meaning of a literary work
Theme
Gives human qualities to non-human things
Personification
Visually represents the key events in a story. Contains exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and conclusion
Plot Map
Used to introduce a list, explanation, or quotation. Can also be used for emphasis
Colon
Restating ideas in your own words
Paraphrasing
Hints in the text that help you understand unfamiliar words
Context Clues
A word that describes or modifies a noun or pronoun. Can describe qualities, quantities, or states of being
Adjective
Occurs when the audience knows something the characters don't, and creates tension and engages the audience
Dramatic Irony
Used to connect closely related independent clauses. Can replace a period or coordinating conjunction. Also used to separate items in a complex list
Semicolon
The process of drawing conclusions based on evidence and reasoning
Inference
How an author develops and reveals a character's personality
Characterization
The repetition of initial consonant sounds in nearby words
Alliteration
The process of drawing conclusions based on evidence, and it involves analyzing information and making connections
Logical Reasoning
Contains two or more independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction
Compound Sentence
Involves using clues and prior knowledge to guess future events. Can be based on character development, plot progression, or foreshadowing
Predicting the Ending
The main point or argument authors are trying to make. It's often supported by evidence and reasoning throughout the text
Author's Claim
Questions are asked to make a point, not to get an answer
Rhetorical Questions
Elements in a text that help to develop, illustrate, or reinforce the main idea, theme, or argument
Supporting Details
A word that shows the relationship between a noun or pronoun and other words in the sentence.
Preposition
Shows how events are connected
Cause and Effect
Author's attitude toward the subject or audience and is conveyed through word choice, sentence structure, and imagery
Author's Tone
Use of similar grammatical structures in a sentence or paragraph
Parallelism
Dramatic device where a character speaks their thoughts aloud
Soliloquy
A clause that modifies a noun or pronoun in the sentence. Usually begins with a relative pronoun (who, whom, whose, which, that)
Relative Clause
The emotional or cultural association of a word beyond its literal meaning
Connotation